Home Office View: A Big Yellow School Bus

Photo: The Dreaded Yellow Thing,

by Frazzled Jen

It’s fall, and that means school is starting here.  The difference this year?  My little boy is a first grader.  I have to admit that I have a mix of emotions this year:

Happy: I’m so happy for him to go into the first grade, because he is SO looking forward to it.  He keeps asking me, “Mom, is today the day I go to school?”  *sigh*

Sad: Hey, I’m a mom, and when you give birth it’s said that forever a piece of your heart will walk outside of your body.  Did I mention my little boy is going to be a first grader?  *misty-eyed*

Excited: I’d be dishonest if I didn’t mention that I am a bit excited for school.  Why?  Well, let me tell ya…..

I’m right where I wanted to be.

Three years ago I started my business part-time so I could do something I love and also be with my young son before he boarded that school bus to elementary school.  I had a passion:  I loved helping people get unstuck in their spaces while organizing, space planning, redecorating and making positive changes.  Then, I found out you could get paid to do such a thing!  I knew my son was small, but I was aching to get started so I formulated a plan.  For the next three years, I would see clients, speak and write in little corners I could carve out for myself and my clients.  I won’t lie, it’s not been easy.  But, worth it?  Oh yeah.

In a conversation with a friend over the summer, it dawned on me that my business plan had worked.  Three years ago, I decided to start my business.  I knew that I had three years to build a solid foundation, and when my son started first grade I would be hitting the ground running.  Guess what happened?

Looking back before moving forward.

I’ve learned a few things along the way, some lessons were harder than others.  I’m no Rockefeller (yet), but here’s some things I learned along my three year startup “incubation” period::

• I CAN create my own path. It’s my business, and my life, so I can create any business structure I want.  My lifestyle was important to me, otherwise what was the point of leaving corporate America for the home office?  Sticking to my natural curiosities, passions and convictions helped me keep it real.  Confidence came from stepping out and facing the fear.  Know what I found?  Kindred spirits along the way.  Imagine that!
• Get GOOD advice. I’d be nowhere without some of the many mentors and wonderful people along the way (too many to mention here).  Seriously, it was their help, advice and encouragement that helped me get through the times I wanted quit… badly.  Having someone to just listen and give you a little reality check once in a while is worth more than words can say.
• Learn to say “No”. There are so many things I said “no” to.  Will I live to regret it?  Who knows.  I made decisions based on my values and the plan I had in the beginning.  I found that when I said “yes”, it meant more.  I didn’t want to miss out on these few formative years with my son, so I structured my life around them.  I said “no” regulary so I could say “yes” to playing with my young son and spending time with my family.
• People’s understanding surprised me. I was always surprised at how understanding clients and business contacts were about unusual appointment times and days.  I am blessed to have a ridiculously cool client pool, whose understanding and flexibility still astounds me.
• Have a plan. I know my ADD-prone brain is really opposed to concrete plans and structure.  (And you thought Organizers were boring )  I learned that having a plan on paper was key to getting things done and knowing what the entire picture was.  I could make better commitments and follow-thru knowing exactly where I was headed.  When things changed, like school schedules, I could adjust and change the plan for the day or altogether.  It’s a cliche, but make the plan, and work that plan, baby.
• Simplify. Henry David Thoreau said it best, “Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.” I don’t know about you, but I get overwhelmed with too many choices or too much stuff.  I feel that uneasiness of overwhelm washing over me, and I want to throw in the towel.   That’s when it’s time to re-evaluate and simplify.  Too much of anything will consume your mind & life.  Cut out the excess and increase the value of what is left.
• Be concerned about what matters to you, and not others (as long as it’s not hurting someone else). People pleasers:  Not everyone has to like or agree with us, life is too short to please everyone.  My husband reminds me of this nearly everyday, and he’s right.  Always looking over your shoulder at others makes one trip over things in our own path.  Still learning…..
• Greet scary changes with open arms. I stepped out and made some decisions that scared me senseless, but deep down I knew they were the right ones.  Armed with information and conviction, I leaned into it (Seth Godin talks about this in his book, The Dip), put some skin in the game and went for some of them with everything I had.

Are you just starting out or turning a corner in your home office?  What are you learning?  What would you tell a friend who is just starting out?